Typical cameras are configured to direct the light from the object onto image pickup means, such as a film or a CCD, through an objective lens. An image of the object is formed by a certain reaction between the image pickup means and the light from the object.
Images to be photographed are of various types and formats, classified in different ways. A class of images to be photographed categorizes them into demagnified images and magnified images.
The demagnified image refers to a smaller image of a subject/object that is focused onto the image pickup means (e.g., CCD) when the subject/object is larger than the image pickup plane of the image pickup means. Examples include common images of portrait and landscape pictures. On the other hand, the magnified image refers to a larger image of the object that is focused onto the image pickup means (e.g., CCD) when the object is smaller than the image pickup plane of the image pickup means. Examples include close-up shots of, for example, a part of a thin fiber or the texture of the human skin.
As is known, conventional cameras are available for shooting either the demagnified images or magnified images. It is theoretically possible to shoot both demagnified images and magnified images by varying the distance from the objective lens to the image pickup means and the distance from the objective lens to the object, according to a certain relation. Such devices, however, are not yet in practical use.
Possible reasons are as follows.
The area to be photographed for a magnified image is obviously small. This means that shooting a magnified image requires the object to be within that narrow range. This is often difficult to achieve. To cope with this, cameras designed for shooting magnified images usually have a mechanism to fix the relative position between the object and the image pickup means, as can be found in video microscopes. Such a mechanism may be unnecessary when shooting a demagnified image and, if anything, it may be an obstacle in shooting demagnified images. Thus, cameras designed for shooting demagnified images have different requirements in configuration from those designed for shooting magnified images. Combining the functions for demagnified images and magnified images together into a single camera is not so easy.
Besides the above-mentioned configuration reasons, there is another circumstance that the demagnified images do not share their utility and customers with the magnified images. Photographing both demagnified images and magnified images using a single camera is not in demand, at least up to now.
These situations have delayed the development of a camera that can shoot both demagnified images and magnified images.
However, if it is possible to shoot, for example, a demagnified image of the whole body of a person and a magnified image of a part of his or her skin surface using a single camera, a magnified image of the lesion on the skin and a demagnified image of a full-length portrait with the position of the lesion can be photographed, thereby indicating the condition of a lesion along with the information about where it is in the body. Another example is a magnified image of a surface defect in a product photographed along with an entire picture of that product. The details of a defect can thus be indicated in addition to the position of the defect in a product.
This suggests that cameras available for shooting both the demagnified images and magnified images do not lack their demands. Rather, usefulness of such cameras has not been fully appealed. This means that the cameras that can shoot both of the above-mentioned kinds of images may create an active demand when their utility meets with general acceptance.
In addition, the cameras that can photograph both demagnified images and magnified images may supply entertainment and amusement to users which conventional cameras cannot be achieved. Such cameras with innovative entertainment and amusement are also expected to create additional demands.
The present invention is made with respect to the above circumstances and an object thereof is to provide a camera that is suitable for shooting both demagnified images and magnified images.